Free To Speak

Free Speech Union
  • 3.7 (3)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Free to Speak is the New Zealand podcast that goes beyond headlines to explore the principles behind our most contentious debates.Produced by the New Zealand Free Speech Union, it examines freedom of expression and why it matters to a free and democratic society.Expect interviews with guests from New Zealand and around the world, plus deep dives with our Council into the cases and policy work shaping free speech today. Any questions, queries or feedback? Email: podcast@fsu.nz  www.fsu.nz

  1. 6D AGO

    Former BSA Board Member on Why Abolishing It Was the Wrong Call - Pulotu Tupe Solomon-Tanoa'I

    Pulotu Tupe Solomon-Tanoa'I served four years on the Broadcasting Standards Authority. With the BSA now set to be abolished by the Coalition Government following the Sean Plunket / The Platform jurisdictional decision, she sits down with FSU Council member Dane Giraud for an open exchange on what the BSA actually does, where free speech and protection from harm collide, and whether scrapping the body off the back of a single controversial ruling was good process. It's a genuinely civil disagreement — and one of the more substantive conversations on broadcasting regulation you'll find in New Zealand right now. They cover: - How BSA complaints actually work — and why only ~8% are upheld - The elasticity of "harm" and who gets to define it - The Heather du Plessis-Allan ruling and whether counter-speech would have done more - The Plunket / Platform jurisdictional decision and the cost-of-appeal problem - Why years of reform consultation were shelved before the BSA was scrapped - Online pile-ons, platform accountability, and the Mikey Sherman case - David Harvey's voluntary-standards model — and its gaps - Vexatious complaints, and the BSA's 2020 decision not to hear complaints about te reo Māori Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    1h 1m

  2. MAY 11

    Peter Boghossian: The Crisis of Honesty | Free Speech, Hard Conversations & What's Gone Wrong

    "There is a crisis of honesty — and we're seeing the consequences in every sphere of life."  American philosopher Peter Boghossian — author of How to Have Impossible Conversations and the mind behind Spectrum Street Epistemology — joins host Dane Giraud for a wide-ranging conversation on free speech, polarisation, religion, antisemitism, the trans medicalisation scandal, the breakdown of moral consensus, and why honest disagreement has become so rare.  🎟️ SEE PETER LIVE IN AUCKLAND — SATURDAY 16 MAY Peter's final New Zealand appearance. Ellen Melville Centre, Auckland CBD. Doors 4:45pm | Starts 5:30pm | Tickets $10.  Book: https://www.fsu.nz/events/free-speech-union-peter-boghossian-free-speech-hard-conversations-and-whats-at-risk  IN THIS EPISODE  — What Spectrum Street Epistemology actually is, and why Peter uses it with school students  — Why "online is a cesspool" and what in-person disagreement teaches that comments never will  — The atheists who are more religious than the religious  — The breakdown of the dominant moral order and the necessary backlash that follows  — Sacred cows: the topics institutions still refuse to discuss honestly  — The trans medicalisation scandal and the cost of suppressing dissent  — Rising antisemitism in the UK and the institutional unwillingness to name what's happening  — Dane's own recent experience of an antisemitic smear  — and how to respond  — Why the Israel–Palestine conversation collapses, even between people willing to talk  — Reading scripture as literature, and the value of radical self-knowledge  — Why fighting, jiu-jitsu and stand-up comedy share something the cognitive world has lost: a corrective mechanism  — The crisis of honesty  — and why everything downstream of it is breaking  CHAPTERS  (00:00) Welcome & guest introduction  (01:55) Why Peter keeps coming back to New Zealand  (03:48) How Spectrum Street Epistemology works  (05:48) Why online conversation turns toxic  (08:16) Making evidence and doubt fun  (10:02) Religion, identity, and moral certainty  (16:18) When moral orders break down  (22:34) Echo chambers and institutional capture  (27:04) Sacred cows and policy taboo topics  (42:46) A personal smear story unpacked  (46:02) Why some conflicts resist dialogue  (51:42) Reading scripture as self-knowledge  (56:52) Fighting, reality checks, and integrity  (1:00:02) The crisis of honesty  (1:09:12) Final thanks  ABOUT PETER BOGHOSSIAN  American philosopher, author of How to Have Impossible Conversations (with James Lindsay), and founder of the Spectrum Street Epistemology project. Formerly faculty at Portland State University. His work focuses on belief revision, civil discourse, and how people change their minds.  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    1h 12m

  3. MAY 4

    Banning Teens From Social Media Pushes Them Into Darker Corners Online - David Inserra

    We weigh the push for an under-16 social media ban against what it would take to enforce it and what it would cost in privacy, anonymity, and open debate. We use Australia and the UK as cautionary examples and argue that empowering parents and teaching digital literacy beats outsourcing speech rules to the state. • Australia’s ban in practice, including high rates of circumvention and account shutdowns • unintended shift of young people towards riskier platforms and unfiltered browsing • why age verification undermines anonymous speech and creates data breach exposure • the case for anonymity, from historical pamphleteers to modern whistleblowers • parental responsibility, practical tools, and education as alternatives to blanket bans • moral panic patterns and why correlation is not causation in harms research • how “design not content” arguments can mask censorship incentives • why government-defined “harmful speech” becomes political and inconsistent If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and consider sharing the podcast with others. Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    1h 1m

  4. APR 27

    Karl Marx was a free speech warrior - with László Molnárfi

    We talk with Irish organiser Laszlo Manafi about why class-first socialism is clashing with the liberal left, and how that split shapes everything from campus politics to protest rights. We dig into Marxism as a way of analysing power, then trace why free speech matters even when the cause feels righteous.  • Class-first organising and why self-criticism on the left matters  • what Laszlo means by liberalism and how identity politics displaces class  • the cultural turn, NGO influence, and elite capture in universities  • Marxism as a framework rather than a fixed policy menu  • libertarian socialism, workplace democracy, and limits of liberal democracy  • what the Soviet Union shows about power and internal democracy  • Marx on censorship and why hate speech laws expand state power  • protest policing, Palestine activism, and the risks of deplatforming  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and consider sharing the podcast with others.  We release new episodes regularly, and subscribing is the easiest way to stay up to date. If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, you can contact us at podcast at fsu.nz.  If you want to find out more about the New Zealand Free Speech Union, visit fsu.nz.  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    1h 10m

  5. APR 20

    When Safety Becomes Policy Who Guards Freedom Of Speech - Dr David Harvey & Douglas Brown

    We explore who gets to set the rules for online speech in New Zealand, from InternetNZ’s direction shift to the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s expanding remit. Dr David Harvey and Douglas Brown argue for reforms that protect freedom of expression while still addressing real online harm. • what InternetNZ controls through the .nz domain and why that power matters  • the post-Christchurch Call shift toward a “safe internet” narrative and why “safe” is hard to define  • mission creep risks when unelected bodies expand into speech regulation  • a proposed Media and Communications Authority with three divisions for news, content, and online harm  • voluntary opt-in regulation backed by incentives such as journalist protections and safe harbour  • why harm should be evidence-based rather than offence-based  • governments and the urge to control the message across every new communications platform  • the under-16 social media ban debate including enforcement problems, VPN workarounds, and privacy trade-offs  • why overseas platforms can ignore local rules and what targeting jurisdiction might look like  • how to support a stronger free speech voice in InternetNZ board elections through membership timing If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe and consider sharing the podcast with others. We release new episodes regularly and subscribing is the easiest way to stay up to date. If you have any questions feedback or suggestions you can contact us at podcast at fsu.nz if you want to find out more about the New Zealand free speech union visit fsu.nz Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    58 min

  6. APR 13

    What Happens When “Promoting Hatred” Becomes A Crime - Professor Ben Saul UN Special Rapporteur

    We sit down with Professor Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, to unpack Australia’s post-crisis push for tougher hate and extremism laws and what that signals for democratic debate. We dig into where international human rights law draws the line on speech and why vague drafting and executive power can chill legitimate political criticism while failing to stop real violence.  • Australia’s lack of a federal Bill of Rights and why that leaves freedoms exposed  • what a UN Special Rapporteur does and how counterterrorism is meant to protect rights  • how the ICCPR treats freedom of expression and when limits can be lawful  • incitement to violence versus “glorification” and why the boundary matters  • problems with criminalising “promoting hatred” rather than inciting hatred  • the danger of subjective “fear” standards in a plural society  • religious texts and why religion should not shield incitement  • prohibited hate groups, ministerial discretion, procedural fairness and weak avenues to challenge listings  • why bans can push extremists underground and create a chilling effect  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and consider sharing the podcast with others.  If you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions, you can contact us at podcast at fsu.nz.  If you want to find out more about the New Zealand Free Speech Union, visit fsu.nz. Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    34 min

  7. APR 7

    If You Cannot Criticise Your Side, You Do Not Have Free Speech - William McGimpsey

    We argue that real free speech requires the courage to criticise the radicals on our own side without sliding into denunciation or cancellation. We test where open debate ends and coercion begins, from political correctness and taboo research to hate speech laws and contested definitions of antisemitism.  • why “never criticise your right” weakens debate and traps movements in loyalty tests  • media and institutional power shaping the Overton window of acceptable speech  • political correctness as stigma and censorship rather than honest disagreement  • Orwell as a model for improving your own side through hard critique  • whether “moderate” and “extreme” are cultural fashion labels  • race, IQ, biology, and the risks of building policy on abstract assumptions  • trans politics as a flashpoint for sex based differences in law and safety  • diversity, social trust, and conflicting evidence versus lived experience  • hate speech laws in Australia and the Joel Davis case as a warning  • the IHRA definition of antisemitism and how broad rules can chill debate  • platforming controversial voices versus correcting misinformation in public  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and consider sharing the podcast with others.  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    1h 7m

  8. APR 1

    How A 1989 Broadcasting Law Became An Internet Speech Rule - with Steven Franks

    We break down the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s claim that it can regulate online platforms under the Broadcasting Act 1989, even though Parliament never updated the law for the internet. We talk through why that change threatens open debate, why the standards are so subjective, and why we think this fight matters for free speech in New Zealand.  • the BSA asserting jurisdiction over online speech via an old statute  • why broadcast standards existed in a scarce spectrum era  • how the internet breaks the logic of compulsory audiences and balance rules  • the subjectivity of “good taste and decency” and why it becomes a power tool  • Tikanga flashpoints and the idea of modern “heresy trials”  • inconsistencies in targeting small outlets while excluding major platforms  • the practical mess of defining audiences and applying on-demand exceptions  • the chilling effect of complaints, process costs, and potential fines  • political and international risks if New Zealand is seen to censor platforms  • why we say we have to fight and what could come next  If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and consider sharing the podcast with others. We release new episodes regularly, and subscribing is the easiest way to stay up to date. If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions, you can contact us at podcast at fsu.nz. If you want to find out more about the New Zealand Free Speech Union, visit fsu.nz.  Support the show https://www.fsu.nz/ https://x.com/NZFreeSpeech https://www.instagram.com/freespeechnz/ https://www.tiktok.com/@freespeechunionnz

    17 min
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Ratings & Reviews

3.7
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Free to Speak is the New Zealand podcast that goes beyond headlines to explore the principles behind our most contentious debates.Produced by the New Zealand Free Speech Union, it examines freedom of expression and why it matters to a free and democratic society.Expect interviews with guests from New Zealand and around the world, plus deep dives with our Council into the cases and policy work shaping free speech today. Any questions, queries or feedback? Email: podcast@fsu.nz  www.fsu.nz

Information

  • Creator
    Free Speech Union
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    191
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Free To Speak
  • Show Website
    Free To Speak

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